Russian TMH and Indian RVNL to make 200 Vande Bharat Trains
Russian firm Transmashholding (TMH) and Indian PSU RVNL (Rail Vikas Nigam Limited) will be manufacturing 200 Vande Bharat Trains as they emerge as the lowest bidders for the tender.
The two companies in partnership quoted ₹120 crores per train set, the lowest bid compared to other contenders. The ₹ 58,000- crore tender also saw companies like BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.) along with Titagarh Wagons and BEML submitting their bids.
The bid by BHEL-Titanagar was the second lowest at Rs.139.9 crore per train. BEML came in third with a bid of Rs. 145 crores per train set.
According to the advertisement of the tender and the documents, the order can be divided between the top two lowest bidders (120 trains for the first and 80 for the second). If the second lowest bidder (in this case, BHEL-Titanagar) does not match the price offered by TMH-RVNL, the entire order will go to them.
The offer looks for phased delivery of the order as well as taking care of the maintenance of the train sets for 35 years.
CJSC Transmashholding of Russia is the largest manufacturer of locomotives in the country.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a MiniRatna (CPSE) Central Public Sector Enterprise, under the Ministry of Railways is involved in building railway infrastructure.
The share price of RVNL has also seen an upward movement of 13% after the news came out.
The official Twitter account of RVNL tweeted this-
Proud moment!!@RailVikas emerges as one of the lowest bidders for 200 Vande Bharat trains.#RVNL is surely diversifying and foraying into new avenues.
Do read👇🏼https://t.co/nVX2ROaS1L
— Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (@RailVikas) March 1, 2023
What are the Vande Bharat trains? What is so special about them?
The first Vande Bharat train was launched on February 18, 2019, between Delhi to Varanasi. Version 2 of the Express (VB2) was later launched with faster speed than the first version and better facilities. It is expected that with more versions, the trains will also have sleeper coaches and will be at par with the Rajdhani Express.
Vande Bharat Express is known for its fast speed as well as better seats, and more facilities such as TVs, rotating seats, bio vacuum toilets and more. It is truly a major step up for the Indian Railways.
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Railways in India
Indian railways are the largest Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in the country. With massive networks spread across the country and connecting different parts, the railway sector demands a lot of attention.
In the Budget 2022, the Finance Minister announced the manufacturing of 400 more Vande Bharat trains in the next three years.
In the 2023 Budget, the government decided to dedicate ₹2.40 lakh crore to this sector for the financial year of 2023-24. This was a massive boost from the ₹1.40 lakh crore budget in FY 22-23. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also highlighted that the budget was nine times more than the outlay in FY13-14 when the Congress-UPA was in power.
The railway budget is expected to be spent on replacing old tracks, manufacturing hydrogen fuel-based trains, refurbishing premier trains and advancing the infrastructure.
As one of the major allocations in the Budget was anticipated to go to more Vande Bharat Express trains, this tender is a step in the correct direction.
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